Didn't catch it the first time around? Browse through our Newsletter Archives for further learning! 

• August 2010 - Developing Personal Style
• September 2010 - Clustering Your Clothes
• October 2010 - Evaluate Your Wardrobe
• November 2010 - Clothing Wear and Care
• December 2010 - Fashion in the Fast Lane
• January 2011 - The Power of Personal Apperance
• February 2011 - Art in Everyday Dress
• March 2011 - Line in Design
• April 2011 - Shape in Design
• May 2011 - Color in Design
• June 2011 - Fabric and Texture in Design
• July 2011 - Pattern in Design
• August 2011 - Developing Your Personal Style
• September 2011 - Which Fashion Trends Work into Clusters for You?
• October 2011 - Timely Tips for a Successful Wardrobe Evaluation
• November 2011 - 7 Ways to Find What You Need In Your Closet
• December 2011 - Love Plus Logic is the Key to Great Shopping
• January 2012 - Where Have All the Nice-Looking People Gone?
• February 2012 - Judith Rasband's Fashion Rule of ONETM
• March 2012 - Discover Which Fashion Lines Work for You
• April 2012 - How to Keep Your Shape in Shape
• May 2012 - Color: Don't Believe Everything You Read
• June 2012 - The Denim Dissent
• July 2012 - What Matters With Pattern
• August 2012 - Tricky Trends for Fall 2012
• September 2012 - Strategy for Shopping With A Plan

Is this how you feel when you open your closet?  You're not alone.

Is your wardrobe damaging or toxic to your psyche?  Do you start out your day feeling lost, stressed, overwhelmed, sad, or even mad when you look into your closet?  If so, you're not alone.  Countless people have this experience every day of their lives, rolling their eyes, shaking their head or throwing up their hands in frustration or despair.  It's got to impact the rest of their day.  It can't be good for your mental outlook and sense of self, especially your self esteem if your first emotion of the day is negative.  And the worst part is that most people feel helpless to do anything about it, to improve their wardrobe and therefore their emotional response.  Maybe they've tried to before but with little success. 

Sit for a moment and think about what's in your closet and what your emotional reaction is when you open the door.  Is it bad or good, negative or positive?  If the answer is negative, it's time to do something about it.  It's time to conduct your own wardrobe evaluation.  It's time to get the clothes that make you feel frustrated or hopeless out of your closet.  Going through your closet can be hard because of all the stories or memories your clothes can dredge up.  Nonetheless, detoxing your closet won't kill you.  In fact, it may just save your life - the life you want to live. 

So in a wardrobe evaluation, just what goes? 

• Anything that doesn't fit, that's too large or too long, that's too small or too short, that binds or pinches, pulls, or gaps. 
• Anything that's uncomfortable, like a scratchy sweater or jeans that are too tight or too short in the crotch, or shoes that pinch.
• Anything that's stained so bad even the dry cleaner can't get it out, no matter how new.
• Anything that duplicates something you already have several of, like 10 pair of jeans, 32 t-shirts, or 15 black tank tops.
• Anything you have no place to wear, that make you feel guilty about wasted money and space.  Get rid of them and get on with life. 
• Anything obviously out of date that needs replacing.  If you're highly sentimental about it, read the Consultant's Corner.
• Anything worn out or well on its way that's faded, frayed, threadbare, stained under the arm, with a patent leather shine on the seat from sitting, or lining that's turned lacy. 
• Anything that no longer fits the image you want to project or reflect, due to changes in your life.  Life goes on and the way you look is one thing that changes with the changes in your life. 

If, as you go through the things in your closet and drawers, you find excuses, excuses, excuses for not letting go, review Conselle's October 2011 Newsletter - it may help you part with things you are holding on to in your wardrobe.  Anything that doesn't work for you any longer in the life you want to live goes in an "OUT" box or plastic bag.  If you need help with eliminating what doesn't work, either myself I or another Conselle affiliate can help.  To get in touch, just call or email me at Judith@conselle.com.

To read related information about wardrobe evaluation, with instructions and examples regarding people just like you, order Conselle's Wardrobe Strategy Book #10, Wardrobe Evaluation at $27.97.   You'll find charts that will summarize the information and simplify your learning and application.  Order through Conselle's Store or call 801-224-1207 and order directly through Kathy.  Order Wardrobe Evaluation.

Photo: Rueceri | Nat Locke on Twitter

Let's get specific.  Here are ten things to get out of your closet right now - they're distracting.

1. Underwear with elastic that's stretched out of shape or too tight for your shape.
2. Rumpled polo shirts, shrunk and faded.
3. Sweaters with sleeves that hang down around your knuckles.
4. Anything with ingrained body odor that won't go away, even with extra washings.
5. Anything you haven't worn for ten years.
6. Scarves or ties with snagged threads.
7. Dead, scratched, broken handbags.
8. Belts that are short. You know they won't grow to fit you.
9. Socks or stockings that have obvious holes and runs, or that have lost their elasticity and slip down around your ankles.
10. Shoes with curled toes or scuffed heels and no hope of repair. (Photo: Examiner.com)

Don't adopt the notion that you've got to toss clothes that have not been worn for six months or to two years.  Seasonal clothing may hang to the side of your closet for six months at a time waiting for the climate change.  Some very special occasion clothes may wait to get worn every two or three years as the occasion comes around.  Sometimes even the most wonderful classic clothes may need a rest for a year or two for them to look new again or combine with newer clothes.  Foolish is the strict one-in, one-out policy - the idea that for every new garment you bring into your wardrobe, you've got to discard something already hanging in your closet.  We need better logic than that.   

Every garment in a closet tells a story.  Whether it's a christening dress, his Cub Scout shirt or first long pants, her favorite prom dress or wedding dress, let your client keep it.  The item will never be worn again, but its worth storing for some time in the future when they'll re-discover it and get to reminisce all over again.

Conselle affiliate, Sola Adelowo, writes "As much as people might think it's all about throwing out the old and bringing in the new, it's really about helping [your client] reconnect with her true self.  For example, while working with one client we discovered a pair of beautiful shoes hidden in the back of her closet that she hadn't seen or worn in years...but that were symbolic of her love for patterns and colors... Each garment, purse, or long-lost favorite sweater helps bring her [values and] personality into focus, and in turn allows us to build a plan for her best image." 

Photo: Northshorenews.com | ImageCubeLLC

Judith Rasband

Conselle Institute of Image Management

Check out our blog at http://conselleimageconsultant.wordpress.com!